Train drivers may boycott tunnel after safety fears

TRAIN
drivers have warned they will not travel through the tunnel at Gerrards
Cross until they are satisfied it will not collapse again.

Drivers union Aslef said it would not send drivers through the
tunnel, which caved in a month ago, until it was sure it was safe.

A decision on the future of the tunnel, built to support a car park
for Tesco's new development, was due to be reached on Friday after
Tesco presented its report on the collapse to Network Rail last week.

The train line at Gerrards Cross station could be re-opened within
ten days the week commencing August 15 if the proposed reopening plan
is accepted.

However Stan Moran, Buckinghamshire representative of train drivers
union Aslef, said the union would have to be satisfied about safety.

He said: "We have been kept well informed of the situation by
Chiltern Railways. The track has been removed and the site has been
made safe.

"If they decide the tunnel is unsafe, it will have to be removed.

"We will be involved in full briefings. The union certainly wouldn't
send a train through the tunnel if we thought it was unsafe."

Mr Moran said Chiltern Railways has employed additional independent
engineers to advise them on the situation. Extensive site testing and
analysis has taken place to identify why the collapse happened, and the
extent of the damage.

Network Rail, together with the Health and Safety Executive,
Chiltern Railways and its advisers, plus other relevant parties, were
expected to reach a decision about the report on Friday.

Track and signal repair work is then set to be finished next week if the plan is deemed satisfactory.

Robin Gisby, Network Rail director of operations and customer
services, said: "We and the health and safety executive need to be 100
per cent certain the remaining structure is safe before resuming train
services through this area."

Tesco director Tim Mason added: "We will be guided by the safety authorities on all decisions about future work."

Following the collapse of the tunnel on June 30 when 5,000 tonnes of
debris fell on to the line, commuter journeys have been massively
disrupted as engineers and rail authorities have strived to clear the
site and return it to operational use.

Reg Whittome, chairman of the Chiltern Railway Passenger Board, said
people have been "amazingly tolerant" of this situation but they
thought the tunnel was "inherently unsafe".

The final cost of the clear-up operation is not yet known.

Tesco say the future of the scheme at Gerrards Cross is dependent upon the assessment of the report.

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